Passage Fiji to New Caledonia

23rd –27th August 2022

After having breakfast ashore as it was our 37th wedding anniversary and with our customs clearance in hand we headed back to GWTW. On went the engines and we motored toward the Mololo Pass and through the reef to the open ocean.

Bye Bye Fiji

Looking back over our shoulders we bid goodbye to Fiji and the friendly people who live in this island paradise. Two hours later as Liam was pulling in the first reefing point in our mainsail the reefing point and sheave let go with a mighty crack. Luckily the sheave landed in the dinghy and we figured we could replace the broken part once we arrived in Australia. But until then it would be  sailing with the second reef or nada. Not a good start to the 800 nm passage.

Even with  just the second reef in the mainsail we were romping along with speeds of  nine + knots, a SE wind 15-20 knots and the seas were 1-2 metres. At 1800 Liam got his first strike on one of his three fishing lines. Sadly whatever it was it was big as it chomped off his best lure, possibly a marlin and we sure didn’t want that coming onboard. With a starry night above and a sliver of moon we had a very comfy first night at sea.

Day two had similar conditions to day one. We have a long range SSB radio and keep a radio schedule with boats around us when on a passage. Tonight we heard that Andy from the vessel Eye Candy had succumbed to a five inch gash in his calf as he raced to the transom to pull in a Mahi Mahi. He would more than likely require stitches once docked in Noumea.

Rather small Yellowfin Tuna

Just on dusk Liam heard the familiar ping of the fishing line and pulled in a small Yellowfin Tuna. He’d just got it on the transom when the other line pinged. 

This time it was a decent sized Wahoo which put up quite the fight.

 Once he was dispatched the Yellowfin got a second chance to grow up and was put back in the water, happily swimming away at pace.

Woo Hoo a Wahoo

For the next two days there was no wind or very little so the iron sail came into play and did all the work. We saw no ships and there were no fish to be caught. Quite boring really.

At 0650 on day four we entered the Havanna Channel with a a decent ingoing tide giving us 10 kts of boat speed. 

Rough conditions as we entered the Havanna Channel

Now inside the channel proper the seas calmed down

Nickel mining has scared the landscape

Looking up the channel, Pine trees were everywhere

By 1300 we were tied up at Port Moselle Marina in Noumea with a welcoming committee of Aussies, Andy and Claire from Eye Candy and Kiwis Ted and Adrian from the sailing vessel Otama.

Having an after passage beverage with friends from Eye Candy

It felt great to be back in a French country again and were looking forward to gobbling down fresh baguette's, pate and cheeses and all the delicacies that were on offer.

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Fiji Revisited

21st July – 22nd August 2022

When we called Port Denarau Marina the morning after we’d arrived to ask if  we could we come in for clearance we were politely told that we should stay at anchor as the marina was full at the moment and that they’d get back to us asap re clearance procedures.

It was Friday and we really wanted to clear in to avoid the weekend overtime charges. By the time we heard back from the Marina staff the wind had come up and we were instructed to bring our tender in and collect the officers and take them to our boat. We explained that we were anchored approximately two miles from the marina and that with the  current wind direction it would be a very wet ride out for all concerned.

As our friends on Pogeyan also needed to be cleared both tenders were launched and we shared the load of the officers, but they still all got wet. Our clearance went just fine so now we were free to do whatever we wanted.

Yet another perfect Fiji sunset

First up was to re - provision our fruit and veg, followed by haircuts for both of us and re connecting to the outside world again with a great Digicel phone plan for calls and data. We were back on the grid once more.

Over the next month we to and frowed between our main base in Musket Cove  and Port Denarau. We caught up with our Swedish, Ulla and Pelle and Italian friends, Max and Alex who all piled onto GWTW and  we took a Sunday trip out to the Cloud 9 floating bar. 

With GWTW in the background, it was pizza Sunday at cloud 9 with our friends

Perfect landing

Max takes flight

Looking good

Splashdown

Pelle goes foot first

Mid drop

Other waterborne activities included snorkeling in the gin clear waters off Musket Cove.

Wonderfully clear waters

We also chilled out most arvo's by the pool at Musket  Cove Resort and watched some spectacular sunsets. The water was clear, the sun was shinning, the temperature was in the high 20’s and the wine was cold. What more could we want while waiting for a decent weather window to hit the blue highway once again.

It doesn't get much better

The month flew by and soon it was time to visit with customs, check out of  Fiji and head to off to New Caledonia. 

A final catchup with Dave and Charmane from Rewa and Jeff the Port Denarau Marina Manager

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